The Mirror Room
John Steed - Patrick Macnee
Page 3 of 5

Birth and education - One of the most surprisingly coincident facts about Patrick and Steed is that both were born in the 1920s. There's also some evidence that Steed came into the world in 1922, the year of Patrick's birth. Steed even mentioned in a Cathy Gale episode that he was an Aquarian—Macnee was too: "...being born Aquarian made me feel, always, slightly ahead of my time," says Patrick. Not only that but both were educated at the renowned Eton College, an English "public" (private for us) school for men. On several occasions, Patrick and Steed have made reference to their years at the famed establishment, although evidently they did not have similar experiences there. Steed apparently focused solely on sports at Eton, and became a popular athletic hero among his peers, winning innumerable sporting awards including the highest the institution bestowed. Patrick speaks mainly of avoiding sports at Eton; how homosexuality was rife at the school; and how lonely he was there. Despite this, he admits he got a very good education at Eton and also enjoyed acting there.

Dressing Steed - We should remember that before the girls' arrival, "The Avengers" was a show centered on two men. Ian Hendry (playing Dr. Keel) and Patrick used to wear raincoats in the style of the detectives of the Hollywood cinema. It was indeed in this first season that Patrick had to carry out his most difficult task of all—the visual design of Steed. Rather than relying on his own modes of dress, Macnee preferred to be influenced by those of his closest role models, particularly his father, Daniel. The brocade waistcoat, the coats with the velvet necks, the cravats with pure pearls on them, the carnation in the buttonhole: these were all things the diminutive Daniel Macnee would wear. This is not to say that Patrick, who was never advised on the matter, didn't explore new areas in conceiving Steed's wardrobe. On the contrary, he looked around and took ideas from people and characters from his personal past, and created a modern English gentleman who dressed in an old-fashioned way. Yet every rule has its exception. Quite often, in different Mrs. Gale-Venus Smith episodes, we've seen Steed wearing other outfits which indeed nothing had to do with his flawless three-piece suits. However, this may not be so surprising for these early episodes, when so much was in transition. One sees certain parallels with these more scruffy Steed outfits with the way Patrick himself dressed when he was off the Elstree Studio set. Steed's purely elegant look was not finalized until after the first couple of TV seasons.

His attitude towards guns - This is a crusade which both are equally involved in, although, no doubt, it is Patrick who has imposed his fervent designs on Steed, as a result of his tragic experiences during World War II. Guns were, and still are, anathema to Patrick and as a result he fashioned a secret agent who used his wits more often than the gun, preferring to avoid violence whenever possible. Steed main weapons were threefold: a multifunctional umbrella, rarely used for rain, but instead as a recorder, a miniature camera, and a reservoir of some narcotic gas; a steel-lined bowler hat—from which, in "The New Avengers", occasionally an antenna would extend; and, his ever-ready fists. However, we have to respectfully disagree with Patrick on a statement he always makes in interviews, "Steed didn't carry a gun and I am very proud of that!" Through videotaped seasons, Steed frequently carried guns that he wasn't reticent to fire! Only from the fourth season on, as the show developed a brand new format due to the introduction of Mrs. Peel, would guns become a rare aid to Steed.

Worldly vices - Neither Patrick nor Steed have escaped two habits deeply rooted in them both, which although suited them nicely, or were fashionable, weren't any the less pernicious. Who can deny that both of them have been heavy smokers and drinkers? While Patrick has sweated blood to rid himself (successfully) of the cigarette and long after, the scotch, Steed, in his Cathy Gale-Emma Peel transition, didn't seem to have any trouble in quitting tobacco. We don't know if this restriction came along with the new package that the Emma Peel season was wrapped up in, but the thing is that the cigarettes Steed would frequently light during the early seasons went up in smoke from then on. The alcohol issue is another key subject. On many occasions, Steed has proved his admirable knowledge of wines and a particular taste for brandy, punch, beer, and obviously, scotch —coincidentally, all Patrick's tastes. But there's an incredible exception which we'll discuss in detail in the next page—champagne, which Steed loved and Macnee hated.

His attitude towards animals - Patrick said once: "I worked with a Great Dane named Juno on 'The Avengers' and horses naturally. I love riding horses. My father was a racehorse trainer, so I was brought up with horses... So I suppose that Steed's 'Stud' in 'The New Avengers' did have a certain affinity because it's the only thing that I can do naturally and well, and I love animals." ("An O.T.T.A. Souvernir Special" magazine, April 1986). Steed's and Macnee's shared point of contact is unquestionable here. In his apartment, during the Mrs Gale-Venus Smith season, Steed had three dogs who remained as faithful sidekicks. However, Patrick, who spoke affectionately on the cable channel show "Animal Planet" about the small dogs he and his wife love dearly, doesn't mention that Steed has also demonstrated a commendable affection for cats, pigeons, rabbits, and in "The New Avengers," even chickens.

His attitude towards women - This remarkable meeting point not only has several dimensions, but also leads to one of the greatest Steed-Macnee divergences we are going to talk about later in this essay. To begin with, the nonchalant attitude Steed always had towards women and their reactions finds a strong support in Patrick's upbringing: "If you come from a public school background, you grow up with the association of pain and off-beat-type approaches. I was brought up surrounded by a lot of strange women, and this made me the ideal man to make a series with these women, because nothing they did surprised me...(...)... One assumed that the women would take the reins and tell me what to do, which was entirely right for Steed. Not that Steed was effete or homosexual or ineffective. I was quite strong both in gait and general energy. I lived for the moment and lived for the past, but I couldn't think ahead. So consequently I was ideal for this role of a man who just sort of slithered through life. I was Steed," ("The Avengers and Me"). On the other hand, Steed always thought of his partners as being intellectually identical to men, and this equalitarian treatment is also reflected in the opinions Patrick offers on the matter: "... one's attitude to women is not chauvinistic. It's always been sharing. Women, to me, are not women but persons, and consequently, we're all persons. The fact that we're the opposite sex just enables the race to continue and causes, hopefully, a lot of pleasure between both parties. But basically we all talk the same language and we all hopefully have the same aims in life" ("An O.T.T.A. Souvernir Special" magazine, April 1986). Macnee's remark about the opposite sex also has a foundation in the behavior of both towards women: Steed and Patrick were intense womanizers, who not only were rather quick to gaze at the different parts of the female anatomy, but also greatly enjoyed the pleasures of carnal sex. While Patrick speaks about this quite openly through his books, Steed suggested it much more furtively, albeit slightly more openly during "The New Avengers". Nevertheless, a contradictory aspect arises naturally in this topic—Steed was always faithful to bachelorhood, but we have no doubt that, if the occasion had arisen, he'd have slid into marriage with total confidence and determination, as he was always very self-assured. Quite the opposite to Patrick Macnee, as we'll see in the section, "emotional stability."

The kinky factor - "I'm the first to admit it—I was a very kinky man," declares Patrick. And this was a trait that Steed predictably would inherit. The kinky factor hung not only around Steed and Macnee, but also in the minds of the producers and writers. A number of aspects of the show contributed to a strong aura of eroticism: the idea that Honor Blackman would wear leather outfits; Patrick and Honor making the record "Kinky Boots"; Di Rigg wearing catsuits; and Linda Thorson dressed in mini-shorts and miniskirts. Once again, the kinkiness that emanated charismatically from Steed (his facial expression, gawping at Mrs. Peel as the "Queen of Sin" in "A Touch of Brimstone" says it all) reflected many sexual feelings which had accompanied Patrick from his teens and through the rest of his life.

The sense of humor - By no means can we skip over this essential trait that virtually binds Patrick and Steed into brotherhood. Both have a hilarious, caustic, glowing, vibrant sense of humor, to such an extent that one is unable to discern who's who. The precise word to define the humor that undoubtedly crowned "The Avengers" with success through the '60s reaching its peak with Diana Rigg, was "tongue-in-cheek," that is, an ironic, harsh, sarcastic humor. A typically British humor, also; for that reason its true meaning many times was lost abroad, even in such English-speaking countries like the United States or Australia. To Steed, humor has been perhaps his best prop. For Patrick, humor not only made him an extremely likeable and amusing man, but, it's been an important asset which he could cling to through countless difficult times in his life, and what has kept him going even up to the present day.